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  1. "CRUISE BIG, OR GO HOME" – OA 3/10/2024-3/17/2024 There once was time, many blogs ago, where I said, “Dreams…that is how many things begin; that is how this adventure began. But with every dream that comes true, there is always a journey.” Anyone remember that blog? It was the one where many claimed I corrupted them (I’m looking at you @GregD lol); it was also truly a dream come true for us. Since that 2019 sailing, we have been blessed beyond measure, and we never take any sailing for granted. But in the midst of all this, there was also a greater dream, a greater wish, that started way before 2019, or even 2016 (when Royal started their Royal Suite Class program) for that matter. This was a dream that began over 14 years ago, in December 2009, when Hubby and I sailed on Oasis of the Seas for her maiden voyage, and I realized that there was a cabin, way up on Deck 17 (this was my pre-suite snob days), corner starboard side, that I wanted to be in one day…#cruisegoals The journey to get to this sailing, in this cabin was a long one. I know I have said it before, but we were not always suite snobs. We have done our share of interiors, ocean views, balconies, etc. Even when I turned into a suite snob, this particular cabin was always out of reach for us. Either financially, or the pandemic took it away, or it wasn’t available, or @Rags1 would not adopt me. What I am trying to say, is that it is not lost on me the road it took us to get here, and how grateful I am that we now have this opportunity, and how this likely will be the only opportunity for this cabin. We are committed to treasuring every moment of this. I have tracked the price of this room over many years. For the times of the year that we can sail (March, July, August, December), March is always the best price for this room. This sailing is also beyond bittersweet. It is more than being able to check off a cruise bucket list item for us and the journey it took us to get here. It’s our final March Break sailing with our oldest. We have been sailing with the girls over March Break for years and there will never be another March Break sailing with all 4 of us together. This is it. That is the main reason why we had to take the leap and do this now. I knew back in December 2009 when I first heard that such a room existed, that I wanted to do it, but not without both kids. With D17 graduating this June, and the uncertainty of her university and life schedule (she will not have a March break that is for certain), it really is now, or likely never. Like a wise @Baked Alaska recently said, “Time is like a thief.” Life is too short; it’s about seizing the moments we have, it’s about not having regrets, and we never want to look back and say, “We wish we would have done it.” With that in mind, Hubby and I decided that YOLO, it’s going to be now, to “Cruise Big”, really big, and then go home.
    21 points
  2. I think we definitely got the “genie special” this afternoon! I have to say, I am not easily surprised but I did not see this one coming! When getting drinks with @recogneyes, she asked me if we had been to the pub. I said no and that we are not huge fans of the pub in general. She said we have to at least pop by for a visit to see the pub signer because he is really good. Later then evening, we ran into @recogneyes again at playmakers, and Stephen, the pub signer was there. She introduced us and we said will try to find time to see him. If you are wondering where I am going with this, keep reading… Today is a sea day, and Shane overheard us saying last night that we might do El Loco today. He suggested that we do a delivery because it might be busy and our kids never get anywhere early. When we came back to our room to eat, this is what we found.
    21 points
  3. Intro I don't normally start blogs early since I don't have any flights, hotels, or packing shenanigans to share. We live an hour's drive from PC and I finish packing the morning of the cruise but here goes anyway. BTW, while this intro post will be long, I do plan to try my best to keep my reports from the ship much shorter and spread out rather than long daily recaps. We'll find out how successful I am when the time comes. We sailed Wonder last June with family and absolutely loved the ship... but it was not our usual cruise M.O. as we were freeloading in Sky Class and spent A LOT of time in the suite neighborhood with the fam. Semi-live blog here if anyone hasn't read it and wants to: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/41233-semi-live-trip-report-wonder-june-4-11/. Cabin Since it's just me and my wife, we're back in one of our beloved caves... err... interiors on deck 10. We like being somewhere in between the higher and lower decks to avoid elevators in either direction when possible so 10 seemed to fit the bill. We actually have three more Wonder cruises booked after this one and they're all in roughly the same area, deck 10 forward near the elevators. I chose forward after noticing from YouTube cabin videos that many (all?) aft interiors don't even have the small couch, just a tiny chair with a strange layout. I may not need a fancy room but I do like the little couch so forward it is. Food Anyone who reads my posts knows I like to eat and do so off and on from the early AM throughout the day and into the evening. Between frugality and my picky wife, the only specialty dining we have planned is Mason Jar brunch on day 3 (LOVED it in June and it was 40% off during the Black Friday sale) and one dinner in Playmakers b/c we love the burgers and garlic parm fries there. Breakfast and lunch could be wherever (likely not the MDR) and our other dinners will mostly be in the MDR (early seating). We didn't step foot in the WJ for dinner last time b/c we were always busy going from CK to a show. We will definitely pop in there this time, even if it's after the MDR, and if my wife finds something appealing, we could wind up skipping the MDR for a night or two and just heading there (@Lovetocruise2002's worst nightmare, I know). Shows We saw every show offered in June (including the now retired Tap Factory) so this time around the only shows we will definitely see are the ice show (our new favorite) and adult comedy b/c obviously that changes with the comics. We will probably see InTENse (aqua show) again just for the heck of it and if there's a headliner and it's an act we feel like seeing, we could go to that. The app shows singers on the last couple and next week's Wonder cruises and that's not something we'd bother with. I'm actually looking forward to not having plans every night so we can just find something random to do... game show, music at a bar, watching Karaoke, etc. Ports Day 2: CocoCay - We'll be parked at our favorite spot by the Oasis Pool making frequent trips to the nearest Snack Shack and Chill Grill while using a few Diamond vouchers. We could have tried Hideaway Beach for $19.99pp, which I know is a very low price, but other than the additional food options (of which my wife would eat none unless she wanted plain pizza), it held no appeal to us and I'd rather spend $40 at Playmakers or Mason Jar. We've always been very happy with the included food on CocoCay. Day 4: St. Thomas - No plans as we don't dock until 12:30pm and finding an afternoon excursion wasn't appealing to us. We may just stay on the ship unless we decide to take a quick walk around the port. Day 5: St. Martin - We're going back on Captain Bob's powerboat snorkeling tour after loving it 7 years ago. If you're not familiar, I highly recommend it as it has a little bit of everything... fun fast boat ride, tour of the island by sea, a couple snorkeling stops, a couple beach stops, a stop near Maho Beach to see the planes, plus lunch and beverages (mostly beer and soft drinks) included. Bob and his kids are from New York and moved to the island a long time ago. His son, Brett, was our boat captain in 2017 and I requested to sail with him again. Here's their website if you're interested... https://www.soualigadestinations.com/most-popular-tour-for-cruise-ship-visitors/. Like many things, I first chose this as something we could both enjoy. My wife is far more into snorkeling than I am but I can handle it in small doses and I'm content to chill on the boat with a drink if I get tired of it before she does. I also like that it has multiple stops. The only time I park myself on a beach is if there's shade and food/drink included (like CocoCay or a beach club). Milestone I almost forgot, we will be turning D+ on this cruise, woohoo! Shipmates @GatorCruiser will be on this cruise and has promised to pop in with his own commentary. He'll also be posting from the luxurious trappings behind the (rarely) locked glass doors of deck 17. @Matt will also be onboard with his kids for spring break (same as my teacher wife's as we live very close to him) and he's more than welcome to drop in if he wants to grace us with his presence. At the very least, I hope to run into him just to say hi but I'm an introvert IRL and I don't want to impose since he'll be with his family. Not sure I'll have much to share between now and then. I don't think this intro was TOO long-winded by my standards and, again, I will truly try to keep my posts from the ship shorter and more spread out. Looking forward to bringing you all along as I definitely feel more like a part of the community since I've been posting so much over the past however many months.
    20 points
  4. That’s a wrap for us. The end of an era for our family and our March Break sailings as 4. I will leave you all with a few pics. Our very first March Break sailing on Anthem of the seas. Our very first star class March break sailing back in 2019. Our last March break sailing this week as a family of 4.
    20 points
  5. Veteran cruisers know to store their suitcases under the bed, thus eliminating space for stateroom attendant to hide.
    20 points
  6. Excited to share with you all the CREW NEIGHBORHOOD onboard the Icon Of The Seas! This is an exclusive first look into our home away from home, whilst we work onboard the ship!
    19 points
  7. Room tour! Main entry Downstairs bedroom and Bathroom Main living area Upper level Balcony
    19 points
  8. Hello, We just got off Icon earlier this morning. Thought I'd provide a quick review while we're waiting for our flight back home... About Us - Me (49), my wife (48), and our two boys (13 and 15). Embarkation - Our boarding time was 11:30 AM. We arrived at the pier at 10:20 AM and we were onboard by 10:30 AM. I had a drink in-hand by 10:35 AM. LOL! Royal has the embarkation process down perfectly! Hats off to Royal! We were super impressed! Capacity & Crowds - A crew member told me there were 2,400 kids on our sailing, and the ship was at roughly 85% to 90% capacity. The crew member said they're going to 100% by the March 30th, 2024 sailing. The ship didn't feel too crowded to me, except for a few areas on the pool decks. We sat at Cloud 17 the whole week, since they have padded loungers up there . We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a drink. On the other hand, Coco Cay seemed very crowded. We arrived at South Beach around 10:15 AM and all the loungers were taken. We should have gotten off the boat earlier, but no big deal. We went back to the ship by 1:00 PM and had the ship to ourselves and went on a bunch of the slides. I think next time, we'll stay on the ship . Food & Dining - We had the Unlimited Dining Package. I was able to lock in all our reservations right when we got on the ship at Izumi. The process took roughly 30 minutes, since the people in front of me were taking forever. Once it was my turn, I gave the lady my print up of all my desired reservations (used Google Calendar). She loved the print out and quickly locked in all my options. Only bummer was Hibachi only had 9:00 PM available, other than that, we were able to get all the times we wanted. We did not eat in the Main Dining Room at all. We ate at all the Specialty Dining venues except for Pier 7. The food was great! And the service was great, too! Only place I would not go back to is Hibachi. Guess it's more for the show, but we agreed the food was not very good . Way too much butter and salt (at least that's what we thought). My wife and I also did Empire Supper club and it was spectacular! What a great dining experience! Room & Accommodations - My wife and I had cabin 14756, and our boys were in an inside cabin 14747. Our room was on the aft of the ship, directly below the Hideaway. We had an unbelievable view of the back of the boat (please see pic I took from our cabin). My wife did not like the rattling and shaking feeling in the cabin. She said she would not want the same cabin again. There definitely was a lot of rattling and shaking going on, but I was ok with it b/c of the view. We also heard them moving around chairs each morning around 7:00 AM - 7:30 AM presumably cleaning the deck above us. We also noticed we felt the ship moving a lot more (overall) than we had expected. For comparison, we were on the Wonder of the Seas two years ago and we did not feel that ship move at all. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say Wonder was about a 1 or 2 while Icon was about a 6 or 7. My boys were also complaining about it. One of the crew members also said she was surprised to feel the boat move so much and agreed it was more than Oasis class ships like Wonder. But overall, our room was fantastic! Shows & Entertainment - We saw Wizard of Oz on the second night and it was excellent! We were super impressed! We also did Starburst and the headliner show. Both were good, but Wizard of Oz took the cake! The comedians were also very funny! Disembarkation - Getting off the ship this morning was a breeze. We walked off with our luggage around 8:45 AM. However, complete chaos ensued when we got outside the terminal to hail a taxi, Uber, Lyft. People all over the place trying to hail their Ubers, Lyfts, etc. It took about 30 mins to finally get a Lyft out of there and then 20 mins to the Miami airport. The airport is also crazy busy, with very long security lines. It took us almost 1 hour to get through security and to our gate. We are on Southwest. That's all I can think of right now... Hope this helps! If you have any questions, please give me a shout! Thanks! Matt
    18 points
  9. 17 points
  10. @OCSC Mike here is photo evidence that I do like tequila. But it has to be Patron. Again, apologies for the quality of the photos. We took them from videos. @recogneyes’s Hubby was warned by Andrew that he might show up on social media. He asked what we would call him. I told him we would call him @recogneyes’s Hubby
    16 points
  11. Hello PDCC! This is how I like to visit…from a distance
    16 points
  12. We are on board! Well we were actually on board a while ago. Got here around the same time as Andrew and Lisa and we all boarded together with Shane. That was just before 11am. Our luggage arrived just after us, so very quick. Less than 30 mins after we arrived in our suite. The room is awesome! Just finally getting a chance to sit down now and soak it in a bit as I write this. Yeah, I am not leaving this room for the next 7 days. Kids said this room doesn’t even feel like we are on a ship. Lunch was at Portside BBQ. And best part? Shane had time to join us for lunch! Off to Next Cruise now. Will post room pics when I return from there. Get ready for a massive photo dump.
    16 points
  13. Some good news to report. While we were waiting for the freeloaders to get ready, Hubby and I ventured down to the front desk again. A different manager was on duty so we asked to speak with him and hopefully get another perspective. Oh my, talk about night/day difference! This manager was awesome! After we explained the situation to him, he asked to see the voucher in my app, and that was it. He said he will remove the charge for the second night, no problem. We were stunned. Hubby and I were like, “This is exactly the way it should have played out yesterday!” Anyway, still won’t be totally relieved until we see the bill tomorrow, but I am pretty sure it’s resolved. But the manger this morning told us not to worry, it will not show up on the bill tomorrow.
    16 points
  14. After the show, we headed to Playmakers. By this point, it was already past 9pm, which we consider really late for dinner. Best part of dinner? Our waiter from JR yesterday happened to be walking by. He was joking around and asked us which place is better; Playmakers or JR? We said the onion rings were definitely better at JR. Next thing we know, he’s back with 2 plates. By the time dinner was done, we were all tired and stuffed. No one could handle eating cake at this point. So @Jax, this is why I cannot tell you what kind of cake it is yet. We might eat cake for breakfast tomorrow morning instead
    15 points
  15. While Hubby and the kids were gone, Shane was working his genie magic.
    15 points
  16. It's been a while since I've done one of these and there doesn't seem to have been a recent one covering Symphony's current 8-night itineraries down to Aruba and Curaçao, so in the interests of a) being useful and b) reliving our recent cruise - just disembarked this past Sunday , I thought, why not? So, Day One - Travelling from Custard Tart Land (aka Portugal) to Miami, Florida. As per usual, our travel itinerary had us flying from Faro, our local airport in Southern Portugal, via Lisbon to Miami. Take off. The watery area below is a renowned wetland zone called the Ria Formosa, which translates to "beautiful estuary", and which is famed for its wildlife, especially birds. As usual, we were flying on the Portuguese flag carrier, TAP. Unusually, however, they had two flights going out on this day, so instead of flying up to Lisbon the night before and then out to Miami the next day, we saved on the hotel cost by "enduring" a five-hour layover in Lisbon. It actually wasn't too bad; Lisbon has some decent shops and restaurants to keep you occupied. We had lunch at our favourite eatery, the Cockpit. If you ever have a layover in Lisbon over a mealtime I recommend it. They have a small seating area with table service or you can order at the counter and eat in the food court. Our preferred choice is the "Prego com presunto e ovo estrelado" in the "Snacks" section of the menu. (They do have a menu available in English). This is a beefsteak sandwich, topped with dry-cured ham and a fried egg, and served with what they call "country" fries. Very yummy and very filling. However, if you still have room for dessert, there's a great pastry shop right next door... After lunch, we found a good spot to rest up until it was time for our flight. You do have to hunt a bit for these seats. They're located near the electronic passport gates, but before your go through them. There is also a coffee shop and a toilet that are not nearly as crowded as the main departure lounge area. Finally on board. We paid extra for emergency exit seats for some extra space and comfort (business class being well over our budget). Well worth it. TAP includes food on transatlantic flights. The timing of this flight meant we had dinner and a late-night snack just before arrival into Miami. The dinner (chicken stroganoff) looks pretty disgusting but it was actually quite nice. TAP economy catering is generally edible unlike some other airlines. The flight itself was uneventful and it landed just a little behind schedule, something of an achievement for TAP, who must have one of the worst punctuality records in the business. Immigration was the quickest we've ever had at Miami, thanks to the timing of the flight; landing around 10 pm, there were no other international flights arriving to that terminal. the luggage seemed to take forever to come through but to be fair it was probably only about 15 minutes and we were soon in a Lyft on our way to our hotel. I had previously linked my Hilton and Lyft accounts. This gets you Hilton points for each Lyft journey. We were staying for two nights at the Hampton Inn in Brickell. I had booked a standard king room but we were upgraded to a king studio. I don't really know why, possibly because I had cashed in some points in part payment. I'd checked in on the Hilton app ahead of time so I was able to choose our room and having stayed here before I knew which area would give us the best "view" if you can really call it that. By this time, we'd been up and on the go for 22 hours so we literally dropped our bags and fell into bed for a good night's sleep before a full day out and about in Miami the following day.
    15 points
  17. By around 4pm, everyone was shopped out, and tired, so we headed to La Bamba!!! Best part of the day. I tried something different tonight. I got the fish tacos and really liked it. Usually, the chimichanga is my go to, but I wasn’t feeling it today. Thank you to @LandstromCruise and @AGSLC5 for leading us this way. The family sends their thanks as well.
    15 points
  18. Well we are just off Anthem today on a 7 night cruise to Coco Cay and we just absolutely love Anthem. The crew is amazing off the bat. Drink service can be a bit slow here and there but crew was amazing overall. Cape Liberty is a mix of good and bad. Royals side excellent, 10 minutes and on but the security screening is not good. The lines they say up are odd and take longer than they should. I'm not sure I understand why it's set up that way. Anthem itself is in excellent shape, looks just as good as we sailed on her a few years ago. The elevator situation which thankfully I take the stairs is terrible. It's a combo of too much use and rude people. My wife with the baby take the elevator everywhere. It was just not great. The food I'd say is hit and miss. I'm not gonna be a cheerleader and I LOVE Royal Caribbean but I'm not gonna be a cheerleader. The food is just hit and miss. MDR, some things were good and some ok, and some not so good. I got lasagna one night against my better judgement and honesty I wanted to see what they consider lasagna as I am Italian. It was um not great. It was to be kind, not good and not what I consider lasagna. Windjammer is the same, hit and miss. Breakfast actually really good. Lunch which we did once was ok to be nice. The burger was almost awful which I don't get because on Coco Cay the burger was much, much better. The Mac and cheese was extremely bland. The fries were excellent though. Cafe 270 was excellent, everything was excellent. Oh the doughnuts and pastries at all places we ate were excellent. The chocolate doughnuts were extra good, small but plentiful and so good. Sorrento's pizza serves it's purpose and it's ok. It could be better but still not bad. It's a good quick bite. Desserts pretty much everywhere were excellent we thought. Some better than others of course. Jaime's we loved but the chicken Parmesan is not what I consider good but that's from an Italian that has eaten that so many times I could not count. It was on, edible but not great. Apps amazing though. Wonderland is so much fun. It may be going extinct and odd but I love it. We love it. It's an experience and I like the food. It's just interesting and fun. Chops too upscale for me but food was excellent, like definitely a step up in quality. I don't like steak so I can't speak on that. Branzino was awesome. Now Coco Cay, that island is pure magic. Period, pure magic. The water was cold, not going again in winter but still a freaking ton of fun. We only do the free stuff and it's just a blast. With 2 boys, 10 and 2 it's amazing. Plan to go back again and again just not ever in winter. What is the earliest for Coco were the water is warm? May? That's my take and will add more when I think of more stuff.
    15 points
  19. Sorry for another photo-less live blog….but b/c we have not sailed on Radiance in MANY years, I thought I would post a few thoughts. 1. Driving…arriving PoT. Our drive from Port St Lucie to the Port of Tampa is about 3 hours, give or take depending on traffic. We have made this trek 4 times now and I swear, we have not gone the same way twice, yet ! …and the drive home is never the same as the way we got here ! …but this morning’s drive was fairly event-free. We ran into a bit of traffic around Disney (go figure) and again on I-4 W heading into downtown Tampa. Par for the course. Handled w/o issue. I really do love the PoT. It’s easy to get here, easy to park and VERY pleasant to board. I will say again, as I have many times, the terminal staff in Tampa are the best out any port we’ve ever encountered. They are NICE and so helpful. We arrived about 9:45, were taken immediately to the Suites/ Pinn hold pin and checked in, sitting down, by the most wonderful lady - the same gracious lady that checked us in last time we were here. Our wait was minimal. By 10:45 we were onboard. During our very short wait we (I) attended to our safety videos and got the much-appreciated “Complete” banner. 2. Onboard. When we first checked, there were no staff doing the muster station check-ins so we (I) went str8 to our room to snatch our room keys. Right where they should be. Perfect. When we came back down, staff was doing the muster station check-ins so we finished that up. Yippee. Also present in the hallway was a lovely lady pimping specialty dining so I asked if she would be able to do our BOGO rezzies and she said, “yes”. Wow. I’m on a roll ! She let us do Giovanni’s tonite and Samba grill on night #4. I hope I don’t regret the Samba thing. It’s been a really long time since we tried Samba so we’re taking a chance. 3. Will they or won’t they ? Next, the first real challenge of the cruise. Will they or won’t they allow us into the Concierge Lounge ? For reasons which truly elude me, Radiance (and I believe all of this class ship) has never converted their Concierge Lounge into a Suites Lounge. Whatever. It’s always big drama to see whether our Sea Passes will open the door ! Whew. We’re batting 1000. So far, we have not been denied entry into the SL on any ship since we made Pinn. 4. First impressions. I always forget how beautiful the Radiance class ships are, until I step foot back on one. Radiance is so classy…so far I haven’t seen anything to change my mind. The Staff has been phenomenal so far. So, we are contently waiting in the CL (not to be confused with the CL) for noon, at which time we will enjoy our Chops boarding day lunch. BTW, I confirmed, when I snuck into our stateroom, that our bed is next to the balcony ! Woohoo ! With all this good luck, I need to bet big at the casino tonite. Or, maybe I’m using all my good luck up, early
    15 points
  20. Day Four - It's Cruise Day! After breakfast, we called a Lyft to the port. It took about 10 minutes and cost just under $13 not including tip. We arrived within our pre-booked time slot but there were some ladies ahead of us who asked if they could come in anyway even though their time was later and they were told yes. Just an FYI for those who may not be able to secure an earlier arrival time. Boarding had already started and although I didn't time it, it probably took us about 20 minutes to get through security, check-in, photo stop and on to the ship. After dealing with the muster drill, we grabbed a seat in Central Park (and a lemonade and some cookies) until it was time for our 1 pm lunch at Jamies. Actually, if I had been thinking straight at the time, I would have remembered about the Park Cafe and not bothered booking Jamies as that is really a strategy to avoid the WJ on boarding day. The couple sitting next to us kindly agreed to take a pic for us. We're both hopeless at selfies. I'm so pleased with the one they took, I'm going to print it a frame it. Lunch at Jamies: Garlic buns. Very good. Meat plank. Also very good. Penne carbonara. DH said it was meh. Super salmon. I loved this when I had it on Anthem and it was just as good here. For dessert we split a banana split. I mentioned in another post on the boards that this was a big let-down. When I had it last, on Anthem, it had come with three large scoops of very high quality ice cream, but today it was three small scoops of normal ice cream. No pic as it did not deserve the space on my camera. By this time, the rooms were open. We had booked a neighbourhood balcony guarantee and been assigned 11195, which we could actually see from our table in Jamies. This was our first time in this type of cabin and it was perfectly fine for us. We did find we missed the over-the-bed storage we had had on Anthem and Odyssey. I think a family with 3 or 4 people would struggle to find room for everyone's stuff. One nice thing was that there loads of hangers, some wooden and a lot of what looked like new plastic ones. On this cruise, we used our balcony a bit more than we have done on previous trips. Comparing CP balcony, BW balcony and OV balcony, I think my favourite is the OV but DH said he really liked seeing CP and listening to the music that they often had playing there in the evening. We knew to keep our curtains closed and we were never bothered by noise so we were happy with our room. The bed is by the door in this room: Keep the curtains closed! The view by day: And by night: Given all of the horror stories I had read about My Time Dining on these bigger ships, we had opted for late traditional on this cruise. We were very disappointed with our table (381) which was stuck away in a hidden corner about as far from the beautiful central area as you could possibly get while still actually being in the same room. If I had remembered, I would have checked out the location ahead of time but having had MTD on all of our post-Covid cruises up till now I completely forgot. The only redeeming factor and which stopped us for asking to change was our servers Sydney and Gendraj. They were just what we old hands expect of our dining room staff: friendly, helpful and attentive to all of our needs. The Welcome Aboard dinner is one of the (IMHO) better ones of the cut-back menus: We had the crab cake to start and it did not disappoint. I know it's not a "proper" Maryland crab cake (notice they've stopped calling it "Maryland style" in the menu?) but we like them. Next came the prime rib. Since they usually overcook this, we asked for medium rare. It came out still kicking and mooing on our plates and we had to send it back for medium. However, either way, it definitely wasn't as good as we remembered. For dessert we had the Boston cream pie and the cheesecake. I wasn't quick enough with the camera here but suffice to say both were very nice. After that and ONLY because I mentioned it to them, Sydney, Gendraj and the up until then completely MIA headwaiter, whose name I never did get because he was so rarely seen, brought me my birthday slice of cake with candle. This is a rather disappointing development on Royal's part. In the past, when we had a birthday or anniversary on board, we would always receive this treatment without prompting. I know it was specified on the booking because our lovely MEI agent @michelle put it on and I saw it on the invoice. But our servers didn't know, the HW never came to ask if anyone had a special occasion (someone at the next table also had a birthday during the week) and if I hadn't made a point of mentioning it it would have gone uncelebrated. In comparison, our DD is currently working as a Guest Services agent on MSC and a member of her team is always tasked with ensuring that everyone celebrating a birthday on board gets a birthday card delivered to their room. It's only a very small gesture but it makes you feel special and I feel Royal have perhaps lost their way a bit in this regard, which is a pity. That said, when we went to the casino after dinner and I tapped my card to get my free $6 play, the slot machine acknowledged the occasion by flashing up "Happy Birthday!" That did make me laugh. I still didn't win anything with my free play though. And then it was time for our ritual bedtime tea and cookies from the Promenade Cafe before turning in for the night.
    15 points
  21. On the 12th day before cruising, my live blog did begin... It's almost cruise time! I'm starting this live blog to control my excitement and keep track of all related things. I'll try to update daily before the cruise, and then as things go once onboard. Being my first live blog, I have no idea what's going to happen here. I'm Cactus. I've been cruising sporadically since 2005, both solo and with family, mostly on Royal Caribbean. While I live in the desert, I love traveling and have gone as many places as I can throughout my life. This cruise is a 4-night Perfect Day at CocoCay and Bahamas cruise out of Miami. Port schedule shows Terminal A, so I'm super excited for my first trip out of Miami (how have I avoided this up until now??!?) and out of Icon's terminal. It's a bit of a wonky cruise for me because I have to pack for this trip AND a conference that starts on Saturday after I disembark on Friday. Thank goodness for Southwest's two-bags-fly-for-free policy. Day 1 Miami Day 2 PDCC Day 3 Nassau Day 4 At Sea Day 5 Miami My family calls me two things: The Ruler of Red Lights (when driving) and Overpacker Extraordinaire. I'm hoping the latter doesn't get me in trouble while packing for both cruising and conferencing. I booked a balcony guarantee for this solo cruise because my MEI travel agent had an awesome price for it. I was on Independence in a junior suite in September and absolutely loved the ship/room/location of room, so I had no hesitation in booking Indy's sister ship. The balcony I was assigned was okay, it would have worked, but I went ahead and did a Royal Up bid for both a junior suite and a spacious balcony. The JS failed, but the spacious balcony went through! And, lo and behold, the spacious balcony is in a similar location to where my JS on Indy was. Score! Counting down is killing me - 11 days until I fly, 12 days until the cruise. Of course there's a bazillion things to do in the mean time, including getting over this nasty cold I currently have. Healthy and happy cruising coming soon! ---Cactus
    14 points
  22. 14 points
  23. Royal is partly to blame for this incident on Symphony as the crew member requested his contract be for Voyeur of the Seas.
    14 points
  24. First of all, this is only my experience, and my opinion... I have pretty severe arthritis. I have some not-so-good days, and some better days. I don't know when or why some days are so totally different than other days. I don't use a wheelchair or scooter, but I have to be deliberate with every step I take. On my last Navigator cruise, I asked for a cabin 'closer' to an elevator, and explained the reason. The rep put us in an accessible cabin. When I attempted to argue out of it, he insisted and said that's exactly what accessible rooms are for. And once in the cabin, although I did not need the extra room, I surely appreciated the absence of thresholds to step over.
    14 points
  25. We just finished up an amazing week on Icon of the Seas, sailing from February 17th to the 24th of 2024. We were a family of 5, staying in an Family Infinite Ocean View Balcony room, and there were definitely some things we learned along the way and since lists are always fun thought I would share some of them in a Top 10 format Obviously this is all just based on our experience and everyone cruises differently, but thought this could create some discussion and would be interested to hear tips from others who have cruise on Icon as well. Also should mention the ship was not at full capacity yet - there were about 6,000 total guests, with 1,200 of them being children. Also, we were seeing them making some tweaks to schedules and what is included in various packages, pricing for things .... basically, your experience may differ from what ours With that out of the way, here we go .... 10. You Will Need to Prioritize What You Want to Do This goes without saying but this is a massive ship with a ton to do and a ton of new stuff not seen on other Royal Caribbean ships. Because of that at the end of the week my wife and I were commenting about the things we didn't get to. For example we never ate at El Loco Fresh and never visited the Sports Court - whereas on our last cruise those were two locations we spent a lot of time at. A week goes really fast and if there is something you are really looking forward to checking out, make it a priority / add it to you "calendar" in the app. 9. Consider Skipping a Port To Stay On the Ship On a related note, you may want to take advantage of a less crowded ship when in port to accomplish more of your priority list. We found on sea days the pool decks to be very crowded and longish lines for water slides and crowded venues. We decided to not get off the ship when it docked at Perfect Day at Coco Cay and it turned out to be a great call as we got to check out multiple pools and hot tubs, ride the water slides a bunch, attended a trivia session with only 3 total groups, not lines at bars, minimal folks in the Hideaway Area pool, ... you get the idea. Just to give you an idea, here is a photo of the Royal Bay Pool, the main pool in Chill Island, at about 11am: It was just really nice to explore this ship with low crowds and made for a really relaxing day. 8. You Don't Need to Pack as Many Mutli-Port Adapters One thing the rooms on Icon have is outlets, especially USB ports. Between the desk, the shelf near the TV, in the bathroom, by the beds - there are outlets all over the room. Our room also had multiple USB-A outlets near the bunkbed area. If I counted correctly, we had 4 US Outlets, 1 European Outlet 10 USB-A Outlets, and 2 USB-C outlets. We did utilize one multi USB-A plug on the desk just to keep things more organized with phones and battery packs, etc. but we absolutely could have made it through without anything. This is very different than other ships where we felt like we had multiple multi-port adapters in use at all times. There are also outlets out around the ship with the Overlook area having an exceptional amount and a great place to go if you need to get on a laptop or similar. 7. You Will Want to Pack Magnetic Hooks to Hang Things From in the Room One negative things we found about the rooms (and heard from others as well) is the lack of storage compared to other ships like the Oasis class. For our family of 5 we struggled to fit everything on the hanging racks and just ran out of shelf space. We fit everything, but was tight. Additionally, there is no close line in the bathroom for hanging up bathing suits or other wet items - only a couple of knobs to hang a few things from. We are glad we brough a number of magnetic Hooks to use on the walls (which are metal) as it allowed us to hang things like hats up but also put nearly-but-not-quite dry bathing suits to air out and finish drying - and just not get other stuff damp. Bonus tip: Bring at least 1 more swimsuit than you think you might need, but also try to not overpack other items as storage is at a premium. 6. Bring Ear Plugs if You are a Light Sleeper While we overall really liked the room we had and the rooms in general on Icon, thought I would mention another slide negative thing we found which is that the walls appear to be quite thin as we could definitely hear our neighbors on both sides - with one group being rather loud with quite a bit of screaming (from both kids and adults). If you are someone who needs things really quiet to sleep or just wants quiet when relaxing in the room, consider bringing ear plugs or headphones or something that can block sound out 5. If You Are Debating It, Get the Drink Package I know the drink package, especially for this ship, is expensive - but if you are someone who is contemplating getting it, go for it. There are sooooo many unique bars and drinks on this ship that we got so much use out of our package and really enjoyed trying different things that we might not be as open to ordering (for fear of not liking it) if we were paying per drink. Also, consider doing a bar crawl as motivates you to check out the different bars and different drinks - and you can spread it out over the course of the cruise, you don't need to do it all in one day 4. Similarly, If Contemplating The Empire Supper Club - Book It! Speaking of things that are not cheap, we got to experience the Empire Supper Club and it did not disappoint - one of the best meal experiences i have had in my life. The food was wonderful and creative, really interesting cocktails - with some pairings I would never have thought of but worked - and excellent music that absolutely complemented the meal without taking away from being able to have conversations. And probably the best service I have ever had on any cruise ship. It's probably not something you are going to do every cruise but for a special occasion or if just something you think will appeal to you, go for it! A meal like this on land, when factoring the cocktails and entertainment, would likely cost 2-3x what they are charging. 3. Pearl Cafe is a Game Changer One of the best changes they made for this ship was the opening up of the promenade and the addition of the pearl Cafe. I cannot overstate how much of an upgrade this is over Cafe Promenade. The setting is lovely with the large windows, view of the Pearl, and the artwork above your head. The food is really, really good - the steak and egg breakfast sandwich become an everyday item for me - and it is open 24 hours a day. I will say the line for the coffee where you can get lattes and the like made with Starbucks coffee can get rather long - the crew there is working hard, just lots of people want their coffee! 2. Seating for the Shows - Including Non Reserved Seating for the Aqua Show. Royal Caribbean entertainment is generally amazing and what is found on this ship is no exception - probably don't need me to advise you to go see the Wizard of Oz, the Ice Shows, or the Aquashows ... but for each, here are a few tips for where to sit. Wizard of Oz - do you best to sit in the lower section, as close to the middle as you can, but if only thing available is on the side that is fine too. Just being closer to the stage is great and a number of effects will, literally, go over your heads and really adds to the experience Ice Shows in Absolute Zero - Outside of a few seats that may have a pole impacting your view, there really aren't "bad" seats, but I would advice to get as close as you can and even going for the front row. Especially for the secondary show which is aimed at families as we had the kids in our group sit in the front row and at times the performers would come by and give them high fives and they loved that. AquaAction - this is probably my best tip overall all. The reservations for the shows in the aqua theater (there was only one ready on our sailing) are just for the wooden benches and chairs within that area, NOT for the chairs behind the benches. We wanted to see the show twice and just showed up early and found we could just sit in the chairs at the back and they are way more comfortable than the wooden benches (plus have tables for your beverage or a crepe from the Aquadome Market). While slightly further away, the view is just as good and I would take these over the area the reservations are for Before my #1 tip a quick bonus: Ranking the Water Slide We did get a chance to ride all of the water slides in Thrill Island and I would rank them in this order 1a/b - Storm Chasers Mat Slides: These were definitely my favorite as they were fast, fun, long, and had great lighting effects in the tubes. The lighter blue colored slide was my favorite, but both were excellent 2 - Hurricane Hunter: This is the pink colored family raft slide and was an absolute blast - also very long and with a lot of different lighting effect. Just not as fast/adrenaline filled as the mat slides, but really, really fun 3 - Storm Surge: This is the green colored family raft slide with the "leaf" that goes out over the edge of the ship. This was also quite fun but just noticeably shorter than Hurricane Hunter. Also, they were only allowing 3 people in this one vs 4 for Hurricane Hunter. 4 - Pressure Drop: The yellow drop slide that is located with the raft slides. This is a straight forward drop slide and rather short, but gives a kick of adrenaline and is overall a positive experience. 5 - Frightening Bolt - I feel a bit bad listing this one last as it does what it says it will do, which is dop you, and then is a nice long ride after the drop, but the drop was pretty severe/hard and I wound up banging my head some. Just was one of those "well I did that and don't need to again". By far the most "extreme" of the slides 1. Dueling Pianos is an Absolute Must Do - But Get There Early! One of the most fun experiences I have had anywhere let alone on a cruise ship was at Dueling Pianos on Icon of the Seas. The level of talent and engagement with the crowd is off the charts and just singing along with hundreds of strangers/new friends and laughing with the antics of the performance, you just can't not smile. The "bit" they do for Piano Man was one of the funniest things we have experienced in quite a while. That said, it is really popular - you will want to get there at least 30 minutes prior to showtime if you want a seat and you will, unfortunately, see people "Saving" seats with drinks for an hour or prior like they are deck chairs. You can see the large crowd reflected in the mirror of this photo Also, the earlier shows seem to attract more kids and they try to go with the crowd (I mean, they did take a request for Baby Shark) so I would suggest going to a later show for the full experience where it gets a bit more "PG-13" And there you have it - my top 10 list of tips and thoughts from our week long cruise on Icon of the Seas. I could probably add 10 more but this post is already more than long enough. If you have sailed on Icon of the Seas, what tips to you have for new cruisers? If you have a sailing upcoming what other advice would you want to know?
    14 points
  26. So I think we are now up to the special treat for the wife. I know I have been hinting at sparkly things that we have been looking for, and not having any luck. But..... But............ We went another route. I really did want to treat her, to something special. She recently got a big promotion at work that she worked so hard for, and it was really a wonderful thing for this position to become available in her company, and in this location so that we wouldn't have to relocate....plus she deserves it from putting up with me right @TheBoss518 So may I present to you Luis.... She is beyond excited....and can't wait for work on Wednesday to show it off a little bit. For all of you that were hoping on sparkly things...FEAR NOT!!!! I have found the exact thing that she was looking for on the Effy site and I have ordered it!
    14 points
  27. More Maya Chan. Lunch and beverages are included, and are very tasty. The have a taco bar set up. You have a choice of homemade flour or corn tortillas. Fillings include skirt steak, chicken, a slow roasted citrus pork, and a fish, which was sea bass. There is rice, beans, cheese, pico, guacamole, and a selection of homemade salsas. If you leave hungry, you are doing it wrong. This was plate #2….i was too busy shoving tacos in mouth on the first round to remember to get a picture. After lunch, we continued to make full use of all their included activities. There are glass bottomed kayaks, multiple floats, paddle boards, sand toys. I love this picture of Lydia and Livi. We also tried to make a new friend…he wasn’t exactly cuddly. Us adults got massages as well….they were just okay. Eventually we had to head back to the ship. The staff there come around after lunch and ask you what time you want to return, and they arrange your ride. They then give you a ten minute warning so you are prepared by the time your ride comes. Dan and his family were so happy with their experience I lost track of how many times they talked about how much fun they had.
    14 points
  28. Is this the new method of putting a sock on the door?
    14 points
  29. It’s a mere grand suite. I can’t keep up with the star class ballers on here like @Lovetocruise2002. It’s cabin 1714 a few steps from SL/CK. We booked it back in December 2022 at next cruise. The balcony is quite large actually. The room is gorgeous. My kids don’t deserve this but you can’t leave them at home, I guess.
    13 points
  30. You’ve already been to the WJ AND ELF ? OMG….youre going to explode before the ship leaves the dock !
    13 points
  31. Final thoughts on the Royal Loft Suite: I don’t know how I am going to come back from this cabin. But I will have to find a way to. We cherished our time in our room this week. The hot tub was used every day, we spent time on the balcony every day. It was so awesome to have all the space, most times I would shout something to the kids and they would not even hear me. There was almost too much space in that room, but that is not a complaint lol I loved everything about that suite, but if I was to point out two things that I did not like, it would be the noise from the back sports area, and the master shower. You can hear everything from the basketball area, FlowRider, even Aqua80 if you are out on the balcony. This room has pretty much helped us decide that that we would never want a crown loft that faces the aft. Way too much noise. The master shower area is not that private. When we were parked next to Carnival Mardi Gras in Nassau, I really felt like I had to duck because the upper decks of that ship are almost as high as oasis. Next to Freedom in PDCC I did not feel as visible. However, if one is in the shower at night, and someone else is in the hot tub, well let’s just say they will most definitely get a very well lit shadow puppet show if you are using the shower closest to the window.
    13 points
  32. On the way back to the room, we stopped by the pub to hear Stephen in his element. @recogneyes told me I had to do that lol. We ran into @recogneyes and her Hubby and Andrew & Lisa were there too. This was already way better than Cats! I was invited to do car bombs and politely declined because I never touch beer. I hate it. The guys talked Hubby into it instead. This is what Canadians in the wild look like. Apologies for the bad quality photos. I am taking them off videos. Go check out Andrew’s blog for the video.
    13 points
  33. Then, I lost 90 minutes of my life watching Cats. The things we do for our kids These people were all smarter. People were leaving in droves! Entire rows were emptying out. Sort of rude. It was not my favourite either, but still. I felt bad for the cast. Not sure if they are used to it or not.
    13 points
  34. We were supposed to go see adult comedy tonight but we decided to cancel it and do family movie night instead. Time spent with our girls is precious.
    13 points
  35. Like I mentioned earlier, sail away happened around 7:15pm. It was a gorgeous sail away! Not only did we get to turn around in the basin, but it was just in time for sunset. I could not filter through the photos, I love them all, so here is a sail away photo dump.
    13 points
  36. Shane also mentioned that the captain has decided to push back sail away until 6pm because of all the flight delays from yesterday. Not sure if that is because they have a large number of guests who booked through Air2Sea? I thought that was rather interesting that they would do that. Really nice of them.
    13 points
  37. Well, it is finally time for another cruise! Yes, we are sailing from Brisbane on a 7-night cruise to the Pacific Islands with 2 port stops: Noumea and Mystery Island on Quantum of the Seas. On this cruise, we are in a Grand Loft Suite on deck 10. We chose Quantum primarily because it is less expensive than Ovation and is better value for us. We also wanted to cruise again with Hailey, who was our Royal Genie last year on Quantum. We have sailed from Sydney many times, so we are not concerned with the scenery on the sail away; it gets dark quickly anyway. I think this blog will be a mini-blog, as the itinerary is similar to the one I blogged last year, so there will not be too much new information to impart. We flew into Brisbane from New Zealand yesterday morning and are staying near the airport at the Novotel. It is a convenient location for getting to the cruise terminal in the morning. The hotel is clean and quiet, despite being near the airport, and there is an outlet mall around 100 metres away that also has a few places to eat. We spent the afternoon wandering around the mall, and made a few purchases— who can resist a bargain? After a good night’s sleep, we took an Uber to the cruise terminal at around 10:30am, which is about a 15-minute trip and cost around $30 AUD (approx $20 USD). It is important to note that there is no public transport to the port, as it is in an industrial area far away from any amenities. There is parking available at the port if you have a car, though I do not know how much this costs. Our genie, Hailey, had an unexpected medical issue and is returning home prior to the start of our cruise. We were very lucky to bump into her outside the cruise terminal before she left for the airport. It was great to see her again, and even though we are sad not to be sailing with her, Hailey’s health comes first. We are happy she is returning home and will be able to get the care she needs in Korea. So now for this cruise, our genie will be Wilfredo (Willie), who was the concierge for our last sailing on Brilliance in November. This is his first time as a genie, but we are not demanding, so he will be able to ease his way into the job. Getting onto the ship as a Star Class guest is very quick and took no more than 15 minutes. We were escorted every step of the way by a lovely pier genie as she expertly handled a guest who complained to her that, as she had purchased the key with priority boarding, she should be receiving the same level of service. At the end of the gangway, which is actually quite a long walk, we met up with Willie, who escorted us straight onto the ship. We went right to the assembly station and completed the final step of our muster drill. The gangway from above Our cabin was already ready, so Willie took us up to our cabin. It felt similar to the royal loft suite we had last year, just on a smaller scale. Perfect for the two of us, though I will miss the hot tub on the deck. After settling into the cabin, the food started arriving on a regular basis, but we headed up to the CK for a light lunch. I just had some scallops and bread, which was just enough considering all the food we will be eating on this cruise. After lunch, we spent some time refamiliarising ourselves with the ship before heading back to the cabin for some R&R. We left Brisbane just after 4:30pm in glorious sunshine and calm seas, now we have 2 sea days and a clock change before we reach our first stop in Noumea. After watching our departure from our deck we heading up to the suite lounge for some nibbles. The lounge was not overly busy and there were plenty of seats available. While there we caught up with Willie and made a few changes to our daily schedule. Then it was off to Coastal Kitchen for dinner which was quite busy. We had organised to sit at one of the tables at the very end in the partially walled off area which was a bit quieter than the main restaurant. The food was very nice, I had the chicken leg as a starter, a dish I have not had before, but enjoyed very much. For the main we both had shrimp crusted pollack with rice which was also fabulous. The meal was rounded off nicely with vairhona chocolate bar dessert. After a quick wander around the shops and an order of Starbucks coffee it was back to the cabin to relax and retire for the evening. Some quick observations 1) Fish and Ships has changed back into a Dim Sum noodle restaurant. 2) Royal has learned the correct way to spell theatre, now if only they could learn we have holidays, not vacations. 3) We received star class wow bands. Wow bands where not in use last year. See you tomorrow for the next installment.
    13 points
  38. Sorry….been slackin’ off the past couple of days. Nothing of interest to report. Tonite is the last night on Radiance We will be in Tampa tomorrow and we will be disembarking with our luggage first thing, We will meet Gavin, the Concierge Lounge Concierge (something’s not right with that title…) at 7:00 in the Photo gallery (Deck 5). Hopefully we’ll be walking off shortly after 7:00. Speaking of the photo gallery, Radiance still has the old timey photo stands with thousands of hard copy photos to go through to find yours. SUCH a waste of time and money ! I can’t believe that in this day and age they are still analog with the photos ! I hadn’t seen that in years. Just WOW. We finally got to the Cinema to see a movie ! I kept meaning to do it for the past 8 days but finally did it last night. We saw “Haunted Mansion” a Disney movie based on the Disneyland/ World ride. It was very cute and we enjoyed it. The only annoying thing was they had subtitles for the hearing impaired and it was very distracting. I kept trying to ignore them but caught myself reading instead of watching ! Ugh. After my first night of success in the casino, the rest were awful so I quit going after the first few days, They’re really wasted points at the point in the casino year so I will hold onto my money in preparation for 4-1-24 and the start of the new casino year. We’re not getting any offers anyway so why bother ? We will be home one whole night before heading down to PoM to board Oasis (or Oasish, as I call it) for 7 nights going to Labadee, PDCC and Falmouth. I can’t recall the last time I was in Falmouth. It’s been a while. At least we will be driving to Miami on a weekend rather than during the week. It’s a BIT of a break to the horrid traffic. This cruise (one of Dans casino comps) is the one and only time we have ever received a complimentary upgrade on a casino comp. Not sure why….but the offer was for an interior and I asked them to price an upgrade to a Central Park balcony. When the rep came back on the line she said they had authorized a complimentary upgrade. Woohoo ! So this cruise cost us nothing but taxes, port fees and gratuities. We are in a CP with double balcony (12229). I didn’t even bother to do a RU. We actually really like the double balcony CP so we’re happy. So tomorrow is laundry and re-packing day. Off on another great adventure !
    13 points
  39. Well, I may have a $hitty room but I was a winner in the casino tonite so I’m happy !
    13 points
  40. lol. I love screwing with words that end in a vowel (particularly an “a”) sound. I usually add an “er” to it. E.g, Florider. I have a sister (Rhonda) that my grandmother always called Rhonder. I guess it just stuck with me ! We try not to change rooms w/a B2B but it was unavoidable this time. This cruise (5 night) was actually [a casino comp] booked first and then we added the first leg [also a casino comp] in front of it, later. Our original room wasn’t available (drats !) so we had to book a different one. I did put in a RU bid on this leg but it failed. . This leg has been sold out for some time, probably b/c it’s a 5 night vs a 4 night. Also, update on the SL/CL access drama. Yesterday, Gavin (Suites Concierge) told me that b/c there are 46 Pinns on this sailing, CL/SL access would be limited to the top 20 Pinns. Last night, Dan came back to the room with the news that they changed their minds (no explanation provided) that all Pinns would be welcome. So it looks like we’re “on” again. We had our b’fast in Chops and now we’re waiting in the CL/SL. At 9:00 we have to move down to the MDR, deck 5, port side, for the B2B shenanigans to begin. Our wonderful cabin attendant, Jonel, will move our things from our old room to our new room. Woohoo ! So nice not to have lug that $hit around.
    13 points
  41. Docked next to us was the Mein Schiff 6, and all I can say is those Germans are a different breed. Yes I know Europeans have a different view on bodies and modesty butttttt…. (no pun intended) Let me introduce exhibit A Then this lady made an appearance…..at least they looked clean…. the worst offender was a vintage male on a lower deck wearing just a robe…..he crossed his legs flashing the twig and giggle berries one to many times for it to be an accident. As we sailed away the number of people coming out on their balcony in just their underwear was comical.
    13 points
  42. Today we are hitting our first port, Roatan. We are using Victor Bodden again. We will be visiting with sloths etc, and doing the zip lines. After, we will be playing it by ear. Our friends are also with Victor Bodden, but doing some different activities. We are all meeting at CK for breakfast. Berty said that they could walk off with us when we get off the ship which we thought was very nice of him. Other random thoughts from last night. Our friends were really grateful for being able to watch the show from the balcony. It’s also not lost on us that we are fortunate enough to be able to do these things ourselves. Their kids (and ours) had a blast. Earlier in the day, we had heard that Livi had been wanting chocolate covered strawberries this whole trip, so of course we had to make that happen. This is her first big trip away from her parents so she has frequently been getting homesick. To see her eyes light up and truly enjoy herself last night made my night. Sure star class is amazing with the beverage package and all the dining etc, but it’s the intangibles that really do it for me. To be able to make someone’s day with just a simple text message is what it’s all about.
    13 points
  43. I’ll just leave this here The Boss was completely unaware #starclassbehavingbadly
    13 points
  44. Flowriding is fun, but flowriding with friends is so much better Owen rode out of this one too fast
    12 points
  45. I'm not a fan of the 3 night cruises especially since I live in Illinois and have to travel. But on my last cruise I got an instant casino certificate for a free cruise and of course just couldn't turn it down. There were probably some better options to choose from, but between my wife not having enough vacation time, other vacations already booked like an Icon cruise in August and a Hawaii trip in July, I had to take what I can get. This cruise is just the wife and I. The casino comp was for a free interior cabin for 2, so no kids. I considered upgrading to a balcony, but honestly for a 3 night cruise even though it wasn't much I figured I would rather spend that money elsewhere since we won't be in the room really other than to sleep. Travel Plans: Tuesday Feb 27th Chicago to Tampa 7:30PM. Makes for a late night, but saved a vacation day for my wife. My Dad will pick us up from the airport and we will stay at his place for 3 nights. Wednesday and Thursday my wife will work remotely from my dad's house while him and I play a few rounds of golf . He lives at Innisbrook resort which has 4 different courses. I will have to do some work as well, but my work is much more flexible on when I need to do things. Thursday night we will pick up a rental car to have to drive over to PC Friday morning. I'm usually a pretty early riser and have no issues driving over that morning. The cruise is going to be some nice alone time for the wife and I. We rarely get to travel alone. Between kids and then other family who like to travel with us we always seem to have others along, so will be nice that it's just the 2 of us. Currently the only things we have planned/booked is access to hideaway beach at PDCC and I got the wife a thermal spa pass so she can enjoy that while I am at the casino. Hideaway I was able to get for like $26/person so felt this would be a good time to check it out. Otherwise will probably just be MDR or WJ for most meals and getting in lots of practice hopefully on the flowrider. I am determined to become half way decent at it .
    12 points
  46. Here is the Pier Runner story!! So when we got back to the ship, I sent Dan a message that we have snacks if they are hungry. He responded they were still on their excursion. This was at 3:30 ship time. All aboard was 4:30. I thought perfect, I'll park myself on the balcony with a beer and wait for them, snap a picture of him in the crowd, and promptly send a where's Waldo text to everyone at work. Well, passengers are coming back on board, and it's a large crowd. The Norwegian Epic was docked next to us, so their crowd is mixed in too. We saw all sorts of people in varied states of sobriety....I remember seeing one woman being helped along by her partner because she was so intoxicated she could barely stand.... 4:00, still no Dan..... 4:15....The vomit comet from the mainland arrives and begins disgorging passengers....I'm scanning the crowd looking for them......still no Dan and family.....uh oh 4:30.....Still no Dan...... 4:43......There they are, looking very worried walking with security!!! Turns out, they were THE LAST 4 to get on the ship, and that we were all waiting for them..... Here is how it all unfolded. They booked this excursion through the concierge. They had something short in the morning, and wanted to do a little bit more. Their guide assured them that they had plenty of time, and that they would get back to the port with an hour to spare for shopping etc. Well, the only problem is......The tour operator got the ships wrong....He though they were on the Epic, which was due to leave at 5:30!!! Dan said there was ship security at the entrance at the port checking names of people as they returned, so when he said theirs, the officer immediately called on the radio "We've got them!" and hurried them back to the ship. They also didn't realize they were late because their guide assured them they had plenty of time. The concierge gave the tour operator hell, and they did get a partial refund at least. Moral of the story, For long excursions, book through the ship....we have first hand knowledge that they will wait for you, Also make sure you know your all aboard time!! Shenanigan meeter - 100,000 for being an inadvertent pier runner!
    12 points
  47. We wandered the ship for a bit. We looked at some expensive watches. I tried this guy on. This was a 22k Hublot. I sent the picture to my brother, who is a watch guy, his response is that they are overpriced trash…..not that I would buy it anyway. The salesman says they have one in the Hublot store that is 94k. Hard pass… We took a spin through the art gallery. There were a few nice looking paintings, but nothing that would make me want to sit through the auction. Eventually we ended here thanks to Johnny and Berty. While chatting with Berty at the start of dinner, Johnny mentioned that he wanted to see the aqua show from the splash zone. We didn’t have anything planned, so he made it happen. Of course, I was forced to sit with that jerk while The Boss was safely outside of the splash zone. Somehow I got more wet than Johnny did….oh well. Our original assessment of the show still stands. While entertaining, not our favorite. Another note, if you are watching the aqua show from the theater, sit towards the back row. There is a significant amount of aerial work, and times that cast members are spread out, so if you sit really close, it’s hard to take in the big picture.
    12 points
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